President Barack Obama praised Gulf Coast residents who are rebuilding their communities as heroes Friday but only extended the life of the federal government's recovery office for six months.

Louisiana's congressional delegation had asked the Obama administration to continue the Gulf Coast Recovery Office for two more years. That still could happen. In making his announcement, President Obama said, "This executive order is a first step of a sustained commitment by my administration to rebuild now, stronger than ever."

In early March, he said, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan will tour the Gulf Coast to get a sense of the rebuilding effort. "We must ensure that the failures of the past are never repeated," the president said.

South Louisianians certainly hope to never again experience the difficulties we have faced since Katrina. Not only was the federal government's initial response to the storm and flooding woefully insufficient, but disaster victims have been mired in bureaucratic red tape ever since.

Billions of dollars of federal rebuilding aid are still unspent, partly because of difficulties in dealing with FEMA.

The recovery office can play an important role in cutting through bureaucracy, but Louisiana's congressional delegation and Gov. Bobby Jindal argue that it needs to be given greater authority to do so. They are right.

It is also essential that the office be headed by someone who has the trust and the attention of the president.

This region has come a long way since Katrina but still has far to go. This six-month period ought to allow President Obama to see that for himself.